Colorado Avalanche playoff tickets to sell out “very quickly.” There’s only one way to guarantee a seat

Colorado can clinch its first back-to-back postseason berths since 2004 and ’05 with a point Thursday night at home vs. Winnipeg or Saturday at San Jose, but don’t plan on those playoff seats coming cheap.

The Avalanche are a point away from clinching back-to-back berths in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004 and 2005. But if you thought Nathan MacKinnon’s hard-charging, game-turning goal in Tuesday night’s 6-2 win over Edmonton was fast, it’s nothing compared to how quickly the few single-game postseason tickets left in the Avs’ clutches are expected to fly off the shelves.

“We foresee (single-game tickets) selling out very quickly in the event the team clinches a playoff spot,” Becca Villanueva, director of marketing communications for Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, told The Denver Post this week.

That clinching — the Avs led Arizona by four points for the Western Conference’s final Wild Card slot, with two games each to play — could come Thursday night at the Pepsi Center against Winnipeg in the regular-season home finale or at San Jose on Saturday evening. In either case, Villanueva stressed, single-game inventory is expected to be “limited,” noting that a season ticket for the current year or the purchase of a full-season ticket package for 2019-20 were the best means of absolutely guaranteeing a playoff seat.

The Avs started a “soft” launch of postseason tickets to the general public before Tuesday night’s victory via Altitudetickets.com. Season-ticket holders for 2018-19 had access to a presale Monday and Tuesday. Full season memberships can be purchased via coloradoavalanche.com or by calling 303-4AVS-NHL.

Under the current Stanley Cup postseason format, teams play a best-of-seven series in a 2-2-1-1-1 rotation, with the better seed hosting Games 1 and 2 — as well as Games 5 and 7, if necessary. Which means, for the first round, anyway, the Avs would host at least a Game 3 and 4, and possibly a Game 6.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, the national ticketing web site SeatGeek.com listed the following as their lowest pre-fee offerings for Avs postseason home tilts: First round: $78; Second round: $185; Western Conference Finals: $251; Stanley Cup Finals: $877.

Season-ticket holders for 2018-19 and 2019-20 will pay flat pricing — the same price for all four rounds — through this year’s playoffs, for however long the Avs remain in the bracket, Villanueva said.

A full season-ticket package for 2019-20 purchased through the Avs starts at $15 per seat per contest. For next winter, that includes three preseason games and 40 in the regular season, down one from the usual allotment because the Avs’ 2020 NHL Stadium Series game at the Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium on Feb. 15 in Colorado Springs is purchased through, and run by, the NHL itself. Given that caveat, a full package for next season starts at roughly $645, Villanueva confirmed.

In addition to the guaranteed access, season-ticket holders can purchase tickets in addition to the number of season tickets they currently occupy. For example, a season-ticket holder with two seats can purchase up to two more for the playoffs, if they choose.

“If you wait to buy tickets when they go on sale to the general public, inventory will be limited,” Villanueva said. “The only way to guarantee access to playoff tickets this year is to commit to a full season ticket membership for the 2019-20 season.”

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic held a season-ending news conference Tuesday, less than a week after his team lost Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal playoff series to the San Jose Sharks. Sakic touched on numerous important topics -- none more important than re-signing star right winger Mikko Rantanen.